No Bread Today But Plenty Of Veggies

Normally on the 16th of the month this post would be about which ever bread recipe the Bread Baking Babes are baking this month. I'm sure that I will bake this bread eventually because the delightful Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen asked us to bake Kürtőskalács or Chimney Cakes and they sound delicious. The difficulty is that you need a cone shaped support for the dough strips that can go into the oven and support the bread as it bakes. I haven't been able to figure out anything to use and can't go looking due to everything being shut down for the pandemic. I've also been fighting off a non-Corona-19 infection and have very little energy. Do visit Aparna's blog and those of the other Bread Baking Babes to see how they did with this challenge. Here are some links: Judy of Judy's Gross Eats, Kelly of A Messy Kitchen, Cathy of Bread Experience, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories.

That doesn't change the fact that we still need to eat and I've had this recipe ready to make for almost a week. Each day I wasn't up for cooking, but finally yesterday afternoon I had enough energy to cook up this delicious concoction which has lot of veggies and some white beans. As usual I only used the recipe as a jumping off place so there were lots of changes...I added mushrooms and onions and ham and substituted spinach for kale and changed seasonings...in short it's a new recipe.

This is a hearty veggie stew with ham added because it goes with beans and we had some left over from Easter, but it would be just fine without the ham and would then be vegan and still delicious (I know because I tasted it before I added the ham). Although the original recipe was written so that you quickly cooked it and served it at once, I decided that it would improve if cooked earlier in the day. I reheated it at dinner time. This gave the ingredients time to meld. I suspect that it improved the flavor. I served it with some cornbread, which went well with it. Sorry about lack of photos, but it smelled so good, and tasted better, that I forgot to take photos!

Veggie Concoction - White Bean Stew
Based on Tuscan Cannellini Bean Skillet on the baking fairy blog
Serves 3-4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup yellow or white onion, peeled and chopped
6-8 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 zucchini, cut in half and sliced
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon mural of flavor or other dried herb mixture
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1- 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup diced ham (optional)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, then saute' the onion over medium-high heat until almost translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms, stir, cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The mushrooms will release moisture. That is fine. Add the garlic and return the heat to medium-high and saute', uncovered, 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the zucchini, the sage, thyme, dried herb mixture, and pepper. Stir well to coat the contents of the pan with the herbs and spice. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach, stir well, and continue cooking 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beans and ham (if using) and stir to combine, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit until serving time, then reheat, covered, for about 10 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Serve hot.